New Zealand’s MinEx has recently reported an incident that occurred due to failure to lockout.
According to Minex, the workshop supervisor went to assist a fitter in diagnosing a bearing failure on a conveyor head drum over a screen. The problem was on the head drum side of the gearbox and could not be seen clearly from the ground. The fitter had isolated the plant.
The Supervisor told the fitter that when he was up on the screen, he would give hand signals to start and stop the conveyor so he could inspect the bearing assembly while it was running.
The Supervisor had unguarded access to nip points while the plant was running and also did not use any fall protection to secure himself while climbing up to the area.
There was no injury or damage resulting from the incident.
Minex’s recommends:
- All energy sources, including electricity, hydraulic fluid, compressed air, stalled loaded conveyors etc. are isolated prior to commencing any work on plant, and not reenergised until work is completed.
- Fall hazards such as poor access and areas where workers can fall from height are identified in risk assessments.
- All workers are trained and regularly assessed as competent in isolation procedures.
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